Los Angeles Valley College, Fall 2007 K.L. Ross, DrKelley@AOL.com
Philosophy 12, History of Greek Philosophy Office: Campus Center 224
W 6:45-9:55 PM (3281), CC 205 Phone: (818) 947-2467
http://www.friesian.org/valley/
SYLLABUS
TEXTS:The Presocratic Philosophers, Kirk and Raven
Greek Sophists, Dillon
Symposium, PlatoAristotle for Everybody, Adler (suggested)
Handouts for this class, with some web links and extra graphics,
are on the World Wide Web at: http://www.friesian.org/valley/#12CONTENTS: The course is intended as a survey of the Ancient Western
Philosophy that was written in the Greek and, to an extent, the
Latin languages. This divides into three periods, Greek
Philosophy, Hellenistic Philosophy (which includes the early
Roman period), and Philosophy in Late Antiquity (i.e. the Late
Roman Empire). But emphasis will be on the first period.
Unit 1: The Presocratics; Tentative Quiz, September 26
Unit 2: Greek Humanism, the Sophists, and Socrates;
Tentative midterm, October 24
Unit 3: Plato and Aristotle; Tentative Quiz November 21
Unit 4: Philosophy in the Hellenistic Period and Late Antiquity
Final: Wednesday, December 19, 6:45 PM, CC 205.
ATTENDANCE: This is primarily a lecture class: tardiness
and absences thus will result in missing material that cannot be found
in the texts or in other sources. The texts are primary sources
which are not self-explanatory; and you will not find what I talk
about in encyclopaedia articles or in most other books. Believe me,
you will not do well in the class unless you are present for the
lectures or arrange to obtain lecture notes, and it is your
responsibility to arrange with others to obtain the materials for
classes that you miss. You may tape record lectures.
After the third week attendance is no longer taken for each class
meeting. However, attendance will be taken occasionally and randomly,
and students with more than a week of absences may be excluded for
non-attendance. Do not report absences to me. It is your own
responsibility to drop the class if you wish to do so (final drop date:
November 25th). Anyone on the roster at the end of the semester
who has not been present for the tests will receive an F. It is your
responsibility to obtain from other students any material or assignments
you miss when absent. If you miss any examinations, including the due
date for take home exams, and you return within the period when a makeup
is allowed, you must be prepared to take the test, or hand in any
materials, promptly at the beginning of the class on the day you return.
Holidays this semester are Veteran's Day, November 12; and Thanksgiving
November 22-23. The last day of classes is December 13.
Note well: Anyone who persistently disrupts my class by talking,
arriving late, leaving early, repeatedly leaving & returning, or
through any other distracting or inconsiderate behavior may be
instructed to leave the class. If you do not want to be here,
don't come in the first place.
OFFICE HOURS: My office hours are MW 7:30-8:00 & 11:10-11:45 AM, TuWTh
6:30-6:45 PM, and by appointment in CC 224. The phone number is (818)
947-2467. This is a direct line, and no one else will answer the phone.
You should call during office hours. If you call at other times, you
can leave messages on voicemail. Do not report absences, or your
reasons for them, by voicemail. Do not leave messages for me to call
you, without the times you can be reached at your number. I will not
return calls if all you want is to be brought up to date for classes
you have missed. Any inquiries by e-mail can be answered within a
couple of days: DrKelley@AOL.com. Identify the class in the subject
line of the e-mail.
TESTS: There will be one midterm exam, two quizzes, and a final. The
major exams will include multiple choice, short answer identifications,
and essay questions. The two quizzes will be all multiple choice. The
final will be comprehensive. Make-up tests and quizzes will only be
given until the exams are handed back. If you miss a test, you
must take the make-up the day that you return. Do not ask to make
up a test weeks after it has been given. If you miss the final and
cannot take it at another time I have scheduled, you cannot make it up
during the current semester and will be credited with an F unless you
request an Incomplete--which you may do simply by leaving a message
for me before I turn in the grades.
Point values are assigned to grades as follows: F=0, D=3, C=6, B=9,
A=12. Minuses subtract one point, and pluses add one. A C+ is thus
worth 7. The grade on the final exam will be multiplied by two
(Midterm I + Midterm II = Final). The lowest midterm grade (or an F
for a missed midterm) will be dropped if the grade is improved
by the substitution of the grade of the other midterm or of the final
with the penalty of one letter grade (sub-tracting 3
points). For instance, an A+ (13) on the final means that a
midterm grade lower than a B+ (10) is replaced with a B+. If the
course grade is as much as 10 (B+), without rounding, an A will
be awarded. If a 7 (C+), a B; a 4 (D+), a C; and a 1 (F+), a D.
In all tests in my classes, you are not expected to agree with
me on any issue; but you are expected to know what has been
presented in the course, both in the lectures and in the books, and to
present reasons or arguments for any views you wish to advocate.
Outside materials or opinions are welcome so long as they are not a
substitute for awareness or discussion of the materials of the
course.
You are expected to do your own work, so do not prepare common essays
with your study partners. On a test, if I read an essay that I have
already read, I will grade it down. Do not simply reproduce the
handouts or quote from them without attribution. I reserve the
right to exclude or fail anyone who turns in work that they have not
done themselves, who plagiarizes, or who cheats in any other way. I
apologize in advance for the security measures it has become necessary
to take to guard against cheating on examinations. This is irritating
and insulting for us all.